Long ago, doctors and nurses did not wash their hands at work.

They did not know about germs.

People got very sick after operations because of germs.

Lister learned that germs did not live when things were clean.

Lister made doctors wash their hands and wear gloves.

About Joseph Lister (1827 - 1912)

Joseph Lister was born on 5 April 1827. As a child he did well at school, especially in his studies of German and French, which stood him well in later life as these were the main languages used in medical research. He went on to study at the University of London, and he graduated with an honours degree in medicine at the age of 25.

He became the assistant of a surgeon, James Syme, at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He married Syme's daughter, Anne, who later assisted him in his work. Six years later he became a professor of surgery at the University of Glasgow.

In those days, medical staff did not wash their hands, and wounds commonly became infected, and the patient's flesh rotted. This condition is know as gangrene (say gan-green). Many patients died as a result of these terrible infections.

Lister read a paper written by Louis Pasteur that claimed rotting and infection could not happen without micro-organisms. To get rid of them, Pasteur suggested filtering, heating or the use of chemicals. The first were not possible with wounds, so Lister started experimenting with chemicals.

He tested carbolic acid, or phenol, which was used to remove the smell from sewage. He sprayed it on surgical instruments, wounds and dressings, and found a big reduction of gangrene and infections. Wounds no longer became septic, so the carbolic acid was anti-septic.

He also made surgeons wear gloves and wash their hands before and after operations with carbolic acid diluted in water.

In 1869, Lister returned to the University of Edinburgh as Professor of Surgery. He continued to develop the use of antiseptics, and many people attended his lectures as his fame spread. The germ theory of disease became more widely accepted and it was accepted that it was better to prevent the bacteria getting into wounds than to have to cure the infections they caused afterwards. Gradually, surgery became more sterile.Lister went back to London to King's College Hospital, where he became only the second surgeon in England to do brain surgery.

Treating the King

When King Edward VII came down with acute appendicitis two days before his coronation, his surgeons consulted Lister before attempting what was in those days risky surgery.

Lister died in at home in Walmer, Kent in 1912. He was 84. There is a statue of him in Glasgow as well as a monument in London.

If you use any of this in your own work, acknowledge the source in your bibliography like this:

kidcyber

Welcome to www.kidcyber.com.au, a website established in 1999 for primary students and teachers.

We provide:

Easy to understand text for student research, including material for primary school students K-6Easy to navigate formatUnits of work and lesson plans for teachers on a variety of topics in key learning areaskidcyberQuests: student webquest assignments with links to information sites for research, project ideas, evaluation'Ask a kidcyber Researcher' feature where students can request specific information about a topicAdvice to parents about helping with school homework assignments and projects

Who are we?

The writers and publishers of kidcyber are Shirley Sydenham, a primary teacher, and Ron Thomas, a primary teacher-librarian. We are authors (together, individually and with others) of numerous books for teachers and kids, published in Australia and overseas. Recent books written together include Using the Library 1, 2 & 3; Thinking Through Themes (4 titles: Air, Fire, Water, Earth); and The Perfect School Project, published by and available at Teaching Solutions.

Our Audience

Students from K to 8, their teachers and parents.Homeschool students and their parents.Teacher Librarians

DISCLAIMER: In the interest of a safe, educational online experience. kidcyber provides links to other web pages, selected and examined for their appropriateness, to provide more information about a particular topic. kidcyber has no control over the information at these sites or links made from them to others sites, which might be considered inappropriate by some people. kidcyber cannot be held responsible for inappropriate sites Note: all kidcyber topics are regularly checked, updated and added to, so keep checking out this website.

The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows 10% of the number of words on this website to be reproduced and/or communicated by any Australian educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or the body that administers it) has given a Notice to Copyright Agency under part VB of the Act. For details of the CAL licence for educational institutions contact: Copyright Agency. Level 15, 233 Castlereagh Street Sydney NSW 2000 Telephone: +612 9394 7600 Facsimile: +612 9394 7601 E-mail: info@copyright.com.au

Except as permitted under the Act (for example for the services of the Crown or in reliance on one of the fair dealing exceptions i.e. a fair dealing for the purposes of research or study) no part of this website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the copyright owner at us@kidcyber.com.au